Pizza is without a doubt one of my all time favourite meals. I’m not bothered about frozen or takeaway pizza, but a good thin crust at an Italian restaurant would be a high contender for a last meal if I had to choose! Of course, regular pizzas whether frozen, take out or from a restaurant can pack a hefty calorie punch, as well as being a source of gluten and refined white flour, which often leaves me feeling rather bloated.
It was a couple of years ago that I came across versions of pizza that didn’t use bread as a base. I made socca pizza bases with chickpea flour way back in 2011, and sometimes used my high protein wraps too. However they always lacked something that a proper pizza could offer, that crispy base and gooey melted cheese topping. More recently, bases using cauliflower have popped up on blogs and Pinterest and then a few weeks ago I came across one that used courgette.
Personally I liked the idea of the courgette crust more than the one with cauliflower, which in my experience can be pretty messy to grate up! I tried my first courgette crust pizza a couple of weeks ago and it was so successful, I’m definitely hooked now. Even better, if you are trying to lose weight these make a pretty decent alternative to ‘proper’ pizza at a fraction of the calories, as well as being gluten free. They are also pretty low carb if that is something you are keeping an eye on. Usually I prefer to just eat the real thing in moderation, but this is a healthy swap that can truly rival the regular version!
Unlike some other alternative healthy recipes, this isn’t a faff to make. I really can’t be arsed with too much faff when it comes to cooking and this delivers something that tastes fab without much hassle or an endless list of ingredients. It’s barely a recipe, and certainly not one I can put a claim too. Definitely have a Google and see if you find an alternative twist on this that suits you better. What I’ve noted below is the simplest version I could come up with based on looking at various recipes. I’ve also credited the recipe that’s probably closest to the one I choose below.
- 2 small or 1 and a half medium courgettes
- 1 medium egg
- 30g cheese, grated - I used mild organic cheddar
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- Toppings of choice - I used tomato paste, red onion, red pepper and feta cheese
- Grate the courgette and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with a little salt and leave for 10 minutes. Pre heat the oven to 220c. Place the courgette in a clean tea towel (or you can use your hands) and squeeze the liquid out. Put it back in the bowl, add the other ingredients and mix well. Line a baking sheet with some grease proof paper, or a fancy silicone baking sheet. Spread the mixture thinly into whatever shape you like, it should be about 3-4mm thick. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until golden brown with crispy edges. Add you toppings and return to the oven until it's done how you like it. Eat!
- You can do a slightly quicker first bake and a longer last bake with the toppings depending on how well cooked you like your toppings.
- This is also great cold and would make a fab lunch!
This is what the pizza looks like out of it’s first bake in the oven:
Personally I could eat it just like that! But toppings are good too…
Have you tried an alternative pizza crust recipe? What are your favourite pizza toppings?
You would not BELIEVE how excited I am to try this! Will definitely be giving it a go!
Enjoy Zoe!
Those courgettes are so versatile! This looks great. You made me chuckle saying you don’t like too much faff – that is what is putting me off trying the cauliflower crust – I tried to process it and it just went everywhere ha! I am a big fan of proper Italian pizza too – must give this a try!
Courgettes are one of my fave veggies, love em! As you say so versatile :-)
I love pizza made from vegetables! Who said healthy eating meant you said bye to pizza??! Loving your photos too – an SLR is definitely on my wish list:)
Thanks Kezia, the camera has so been worth it!
Yum definitely making this! I have made cauliflower and a broccoli one and most recently a gram flour one. I love them especially as i can’t eat gluten : )
Glad you tried it Tam! xxxx
YUM!!!!! I love courgettes :-)
Me too, such a versatile veggie!
Looks lush! Cauliflower is SUCH a faff to grate. I do enjoy cauliflower pizzas but the faff just puts me off. Courgette is far easier to grate though (I often add it to meatballs to bulk them out a bit and hide some healthy stuff from Ben ;)
I love sundried tomatoes, goat’s cheese, caramelized onions, or BBQ chicken…mmm.
Mmm you’ve made me fancy some sun dried tomatoes!
I love cauliflower and courgette pizzas. I much prefer them to normal pizza bases too, they are so much lighter.
Definitely beats that bloated feeling!
I’ve been looking for a courgette crust for a while, and this looks great! However, I can’t eat cheese so will try out a few different things and see if it works!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
I would try adding 1/2 tbsp of coconut flour just to help it stick together if you leave out the cheese x
This looks so good! I’ve seen a lot of cauliflower pizzas but this looks like a lot less hassle! x
It definitely is nice and easy :-)
This looks fantastic! I’m not a massive fan of pizza but always have it as my pre-race meal…loaded with lots of veg! It appeals to me so much more with a courgette base though. I’m definitely testing this recipe out soon!
My favourite toppings have to be; pesto, goats cheese, caramelised onions, pineapple and peppers. :)
Do let me know what you think if you try it! Love your fave toppings, mmm!
This looks really good! The cauliflower does not sound that good to me as I always imagine it would have a strange texture (I don’t like it raw and imagine it would be a bit like raw cauliflower) but I love courgettes. My favourite pizza toppings are sundried tomatoes, caramelised onion and goats cheese.
I tried this tonight (Tuesday night is pizza night at our house!) and really, really enjoyed it. Like others have said, I’ve been put off from trying the cauli crusts because of the faff, but this is easy peasy, especially if you use the grating blade on your food processor like I did! Will definitely make again, thanks!
Just tried this as I’ve been missing pizza. Didn’t have courgettes in so I used grated carrots instead and had an onion, sun dried tomato, ham topping sprinkled with a bit of parmesan. It was delicious. Thanks for the inspiration. Will put some courgettes on my shopping list.
Glad you enjoyed that!